Welcome Parenting Teachers!

Destination Parenthood: Arrive Prepared is a curriculum resource written by a former secondary school teacher who is now an Education Specialist at Peel Public Health. It is intended for use in Grade Eleven Parenting classes. The lessons complement initiatives on differentiated learning and correspond to the Ontario Ministry of Education guidelines.

Lesson One provides a foundation for the subsequent lessons in this curriculum resource. Several fun activities help you teach reproductive anatomy, the menstrual cycle, conception and foetal development. Colourful overheads can be used to quiz student learning or for large group discussions. Sample answers to help teachers field difficult questions are included in the Guide to Using the Question Box.

Lesson Two deals with preconception, pregnancy, labour, birth and breastfeeding. It highlights the relationship between an individual's lifestyle choices and the health of his/her children. In the Healthy Pregnancy Game, students further explore the connections between a pregnant woman's behaviours and the well-being of her unborn child.

Lesson Three focuses on the first 8 weeks of a baby's life. This time period is challenging for parents as they adapt to their new roles and responsibilities. It is also a critical time for babies as it influences brain development, learned behaviour and their health for life. By examining various scenarios, students will learn that while this transitional phase can be difficult, there are many community resources offering much-needed support. In small work groups, students will review scenarios, analyse the issues and find resources in their communities. Postpartum mood disorders are also discussed.

Lesson Four focuses on the importance of a child's first three years, with special emphasis on the four kinds of development experienced by infants and toddlers: physical, emotional, social and intellectual. After learning the basics about early child development, students will design age-appropriate activities for children aged 1 to 3. Students will be encouraged to explore how play is related to learning and important developmental milestones.

Lesson Five focuses on practical ways that parents and caregivers can promote healthy growth and development in children during everyday interactions. The complex art of parenting is simplified into four vital categories: Love, Feed, Play, and Protect. Students will learn that, in order to grow into healthy adults, children must feel loved, be provided with healthy food, be encouraged to engage in age-appropriate play and remain protected from harm. Group work enables students to illustrate the importance of these four types of development.

To supplement your teaching, a booklet entitled, Great Beginnings is available for download.

Lesson Six helps students recognise the consequences of three different parenting styles. They learn that certain practices are more effective than others in guiding a child's positive behaviour. After reading about educational theories on parenting, students participate in a role-play exercise. Personal experience, values, goals and knowledge are taken into account. A homework assignment, focussed on "parenting as seen on television", is also included.

Lesson Seven makes the connection between healthy dating relationships and successful parenting. Students will see how patterns established during adolescence are often repeated in adulthood. They will consider the components of both healthy and unhealthy relationships and discuss how these impact child-rearing. Students will determine what qualities are necessary in order to build strong parenting partnerships and healthy families.

Lesson Eight involves a multi-dimensional assignment entitled, "The Ideal Parent Project". This project allows students to showcase their accumulated knowledge of healthy relationships and parenting practices in a creative way. They will determine the personal qualities, skills and talents they would seek in an ideal parenting partner and create a collage of this fictional person. Students will also consider their own readiness for parenthood based on factors such as emotional readiness, physical health and financial stability. Their findings come to life as they deliver an imaginative class presentation.